SME Advice is the first on-demand virtual mentorship platform in South Africa where small businesses can connect with industry experts for business mentoring and advice.

To maintain the integrity of the SMEAdvice brand and platform and ensure the safety of both mentor and mentee, you may not take the sessions outside of the SME Advice platform. Doing so may result in removing yourself from the SMEAdvice network of mentors.

Yes, SME Advice reserves the right to screen and monitor content submitted by 

Yes, the SME Advice Platform has been developed to be secure and all exchanges are encrypted. It also ensures your data is housed in compliance with the POPI Act.

SME Advice holds specific non-sensitive personal information to provide its services, including user name, email, location, linked social media, profile and images that were saved by users to their profiles.

You can view your session history and join your upcoming sessions by accessing your Sessions tab on the left-hand side of your dashboard.

When joining your call, make sure your browser is allowing access to your camera and microphone. If you have multiple devices for your microphone or camera, you can select which to allow from the drop-down menu.

You can control your microphone, camera, sharing your screen and other settings by the settings bar at the bottom of your screen.

After your video call session, you will be prompted to leave a rating and review for either your mentor or your attending mentee. You can also leave further feedback on your platform experience. 

Complete all the required fields. You will need to include a short bio positioning your areas of expertise as a mentor, upload a short introductory video and remember to include the reasons why entrepreneurs should enlist your services. Please select the categories that you are qualified in for the search filter.

If your client has booked an hour session and you are running over time, simply end the session at an hour and schedule another one for the additional time needed. This ensures your billing runs correctly.

Simply log into your profile and complete all the requested fields. Go to Account Settings, from there you will see the Price tab. That is where you can set up your pricing.

After signing up to the SME Advice platform you have been approved. Go back to your profile and populate all required fields including your rate, introductory view, expertise and specialised categories. 

If you require assistance, contact support@smesouthafrica.co.za

Yes, the SME Advice Platform has been developed to be secure and all exchanges are encrypted. It also ensures your data is housed in compliance with the POPI Act.

You set your hourly rate through the SME Advice Platform.

SME Advice charges you a fee (the "Service Fee”) based on a percentage of Appointment Fees collected on your behalf. The current applicable percentage on all sessions/services is twenty per cent (20%). The Service Fee is deducted from the Appointment Fee payable to you in respect of an Appointment.

T&C’s apply

Card transactions will be acquired for StME Advice via PayGate (Pty) Ltd which is the approved payment gateway for all South African Acquiring Banks. The payment gateway accepts Mastercard/Visa, debit and credit card payments as well as EFT’s from the main South African banks. Once you reach the minimum threshold of earning R1 000 and have completed the sessions/services booked, payments will be made every week.

T&C’s apply

Yes. After each session, a message will be sent to the mentee where they can review the session.

Adjust your calendar availability through your profile on SME Advice.

You can easily connect to mentees through the SME Advice Platform chat functionality.

A mentee will schedule a session through the calendar on your profile. You can view the appointment on your dashboard. If you need to reschedule your session, please email support@smesouthafrica.co.za

Once you have submitted all the required documentation for the panel to verify, it takes less than a week to review your application and for you to complete your profile on the SME Advice Platform.

To qualify as a SME Advice Expert, it is mandatory to possess a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience in the specific area or field of expertise. We value the expertise and knowledge that come with years of practical experience, as it enables experts to provide valuable guidance and support to aspiring entrepreneurs.

When registering as an expert on SME Advice, you will be required to submit specific documents that validate your qualifications. These documents serve as a means to ensure the credibility and expertise of our experts. Please note that the submitted documents are strictly confidential and are not made public. We prioritize the privacy and security of our experts' personal and professional information.

By maintaining these rigorous qualification standards, we aim to uphold the quality of mentorship provided on the SME Advice platform, enabling mentees to connect with experienced professionals who can offer valuable insights, guidance, and support on their entrepreneurial journey.

Apply to mentor on the SME Advice platform. Part of the application is to complete your profile and qualifying criteria. This includes points such as providing a Link to your LinkedIn profile, Experience and Field of expertise etc. Note: Your personal information such as your CV etc. will not be made public. Your profile will automatically be submitted for review.

Our panel assesses and verifies that your career history is in line with the category in which your expertise will be listed. Once all your credentials have been checked, your profile will be made live on the Startwise Platform. Remember to complete your profile before commencing with your mentorship.

Apply to be a mentor directly on the Platform. Set up your profile and submit it for vetting. Remember to complete your profile once you are approved. From there all sessions are booked and held within the Platform.

The SMEAdvice Platform will take you through a short onboarding process to ensure you are familiar with all the Startwise functionality and features.

You can earn extra revenue while working the hours that suit you. Mentor entrepreneurs, SME business owners and the like. Plus you can continue your path as an industry thought leader by sharing knowledge across our digital platforms.

Click here for more reasons to apply to be a mentor.

If you would like to increase or decrease your rate to mentees, simply log into your mentor profile and update it. This new rate will be applied to all your sessions booked in the future.

Note, that if the entrepreneur has already booked and paid for a session, you will need to honour the rate you were charging at the time of booking.

SME Advice is responsible for marketing to attract mentees to the platform. If you have a great idea for a campaign to drive bookings, reach out to us at support@smesouthafrica.co.za

If a mentee pays for a session but does not book it with you, unfortunately, you will not receive compensation for that unbooked session.

Our compensation structure is designed to ensure that mentors are rewarded for their time and expertise when actively engaged in mentorship sessions. Unbooked sessions represent situations where the mentoring interaction has not taken place, so compensation is not provided in these cases.

• Location: South Africa
• Industry experience: 10+ years
• Seniority level: Mid-level specialists and above
• Approach: Inclusive and welcoming to those of all backgrounds and cultures
• Mentorship experience: No previous mentorship experience is required. But we do ask that you genuinely want to help another person grow professionally.

No. It doesn’t matter what size your business is or which industry. Any business owner can set up a session with a mentor or business coach of their choice and enjoy professional, trusted advice to help business growth.

Yes, the SME Advice Platform is a web-based application. Select audio if your connection is poor.

Simply book a session, subscription or service on the Startwise Platform and you are ready to go!

The SME Advice Platform automatically tracks the time for your session. You pay for the session, subscription or service upfront (via your selected method of payment and agreed consultation rate). 

All our mentors go through a stringent vetting system whereby their experience and credentials are all verified. Our mentors have a minimum of 10 years of experience in their field or area of expertise.

When looking for an expert, you can filter by name, skills that you require, level of expertise or even the industry you are in. 

Your feedback is important to us. You will receive an email, within 24 hours, from our Startwise team to please leave a review of your session and expert. If you would like to send us direct feedback, please email support@startwise.co.za

If you can’t get hold of your mentor via the SME Advice Platform, please email us at support@smesouthafrica.co.za

If you would like to reschedule your session, you can do so from your scheduled session/by chatting to your mentor through the SME Advice platform or emailing support@smesouthafrica.co.za

Watching webinars on SME Advice is free and you are not required to become an SME Advice user to watch the webinars.

Yes, you can access the webinars on SME Advice from any device with an internet connection. The platform is compatible with desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

You (as a Mentee) may cancel within 7 days if the export doesn't show up for the meeting.

Last-minute cancellations that you, the mentee, make will attract a 20% administration fee along with any services consumed. 

To request a refund email support@smesouthafrica.co.za

T&C’s apply

You can schedule your sessions by clicking on the required date and time on the Experts calendar through the SME Advice Platform.

You (as an entrepreneur) may cancel 24 hours before the appointment without penalty; thereafter, a percentage penalty will be applicable.

T&C’s apply

Yes. Once you have registered on the SME Advice Platform you will be able to view which expert is online and start chatting instantly. You can speak with multiple mentors through the chat feature

After agreeing to the fee from your mentor, a pre-authorization of your credit card may be charged for a nominal amount, not exceeding R10.00 to verify your credit card. All online transactions
are made through the SME Advice Platform using the 3rd Party Payment gateway. You can select your payment method of choice – Mastercard/Visa/EFT from the main South African banks.

When an appointment is booked, SME Advice will process and collect the Appointment Fees payable by the time booked. If the appointment continues after the booked times, the additional Appointment Fees will be deducted.

T&C’s apply

After signing up on SMEAdvice and creating your profile, you can search through the mentors or categories that you need assistance with. Simply click on the mentor of your choice and "Subscribe”.

SME Advice will send your request to the mentor to schedule a session. They have 24 hours to accept your appointment request or you will be prompted to reschedule. When an Appointment is requested, the expert will receive your first and last name and a link to your SME Advice Account profile page. Once the mentor confirms, SME Advice will send you an email confirming your booking.

If you fail to attend your session without giving 24-hour prior notice and the expert was present, you will still be charged for your session. 

Please see T&Cs

If you are unhappy with the service or session you have received, please contact us at support@smesouthafrica.co.za. Refunds are possible within 7 days if the mentor is not available/unreachable to have a session with you.

Please see T&C

Mentors on SME Advice are carefully vetted for credibility and professionalism, ensuring they understand and respect the confidentiality of your ideas.

Contact Startwise immediately to address your concerns. The platform takes such matters seriously and will investigate and take appropriate action.

 If you haven't booked a mentorship session within 30 days of subscribing, the subscription fee will be refunded to your wallet as credits.

Credits are a form of virtual currency within our platform that can be used for future transactions. If you haven't booked a session within the initial 30 days, the subscription fee is returned to your wallet as credits. These credits can then be applied when you decide to subscribe and book a session at a later time.

The credits in your wallet do not have an expiration date. You can use them whenever you're ready to book a session with a mentor. They provide you with the flexibility to choose a mentorship opportunity that aligns with your schedule and needs.

Yes, you can combine credits with other payment methods when booking a session. This flexibility allows you to make the most of your available resources for an enriching mentorship experience.

No, credits that are in your wallet cannot be refunded back to your original payment method. They can only be used for mentorship sessions or services within our platform.

When you're ready to resume your mentorship journey, simply navigate to the mentorship subscription page and select the mentor you'd like to work with. During the checkout process, you'll have the option to use your available credits to offset the subscription fee.

Yes, you can reschedule the meeting if the Expert did not attend the meeting.

Sessions can be up to 60 minutes starting from 30 minutes.

All mentoring sessions are conducted online through the secured video/audio conferencing built right into the platform.

A computer, tablet, or smartphone with a webcam and a reliable internet connection is all you need to participate in your online mentoring session.